DOHA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has been accorded an official welcome at the Amiri Diwan of Qatar in conjunction with his three-day official visit to the West Asian country. Anwar also met with his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who is also the Foreign Affairs Minister. This is Anwar's first official visit to Qatar after being appointed as Prime Minister on Nov 22, 2022. The special aircraft carrying Anwar landed at the Doha International Airport at 9.37pm local time. Also accompanying the Prime Minister in the delegation are Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz and Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir.

Their last meeting was during Anwar’s official visit to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, last month, where discussions also revolved around the conflict. They try to facilitate dialogue and talk and seek a path towards a lasting solution, which is a permanent ceasefire. “Their policy is based on dialogue and preventive diplomacy,” Zamshari said, emphasising Malaysia’s desire to see a resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, particularly through such negotiations. Anwar will embark on a three-day official visit at the invitation of the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Hamad Al Thani, and participate in the Qatar Economy Forum 2024. Last year, bilateral trade between Malaysia and Qatar amounted to RM4.3bil, a figure expected to rise further following this visit.

KUALA LUMPUR: Eversendai Corp Bhd has been issued with an unusual market activity (UMA) query by Bursa Malaysia following a sharp rise in the price of its security. As at 12.30pm, the share of the construction firm was up 11 sen or 17.89% to 72.5 sen. It had risen to as high as 78.5 sen earlier in the day, representing a 27.64% increase over its reference price of 61.5 sen. Year-to-date, Eversendai's share price has more than quadrupled in value. The share nearly doubled in value to 40 sen a share in a single day of trading on volume of 130.42 million shares, its second highest on record.

IF I’m suffering from a life-threatening disease and laying helplessly on a hospital bed, it wouldn’t matter to me if the doctors and nurses trying to save my life were Type C, Type M or Type I – if that’s a new classification for races. I would just want the type of medical personnel who are competent and dedicated to their work. Basically, their race or religion bears no significance to me.

KUALA LUMPUR: Students and members of academia will have access to a vast network of information in just two weeks as part of the government’s effort to enhance Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the country. “We will ask the Digital Ministry, Communications Ministry and the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry to coordinate this in a simpler format. He added that it was important to anticipate threats from outside, which meant strengthening cybersecurity in terms of AI. He said the governance of the AI ecosystem needed to be systematic, with professional and skilled talent who can work with multinational corporations and the Malaysian Artificial Intelligence Consortium (MAIC). He also launched the AI Talent Roadmap 2024-2030 and Faculty of Artificial Intelligence (FAI) and MAIC.

Kompleks Belia & Sukan Negeri Kedah, Alor Setar6. Kompleks Belia & Sukan Negri Sembilan, Paroi8. Kompleks Belia & Sukan Negeri Sarawak, Kuching14. Kompleks Belia & Sukan Negeri Sabah, Putatan15. Gelanggang Futsal Hassan Sani, Kompleks Sukan Labuan, Sabah

PETALING JAYA: Despite recording its lowest net profit in three years, Dagang Nexchange Bhd (Dnex) remains optimistic about its future prospects backed by the global semiconductor market recovery, favourable oil prices and potential strategic collaborations. “Simultaneously, our substantial investment in the development of micro-electromechanical systems and silicon photonics is poised to yield positive results in the near future. Dnex said it anticipates Brent crude oil price will average US$82 per barrel in 2024 and US$79 per barrel in 2025. “Given our status as a low-cost operator, profitability remains feasible as long as crude oil prices remain above US$60 per barrel,” it added. He stated that this will concurrently position Dnex as an international player in IT and open doors to even more “blue ocean” opportunities ahead.

PETALING JAYA: Criticism against the government and the Prime Minister are acceptable but not when 3R (royalty, religion and race) issues are being touched on, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. "The Malay rulers, by consensus, have requested the government to take firmer action to prevent this because they feel it is unfair. They (Malay rulers) are attacked but cannot respond. "... everyone says they want to defend the Malays; the parties are Malay parties, but they insult the Malay rulers... Citing the example of allegations of royal involvement in the purported establishment of a casino, Anwar said the government would not compromise with parties that touch on the institution of the Malay rulers.

The retail net selling in March was also the ninth consecutive month of selling by local retailers and the trend continued into April. “I would expect retail investors to gradually increase exposure if the market remains buoyant, which is what we expect,” he said. In April their purchases had amounted to RM2.9bil, absorbing the net selling by retailers and foreign institutions. While institutional buyers appear to be manning market trajectory, would lower trading costs by online trading platform Rakuten Trade and Moomoo get local retailers to return to the market? That was also at a time when local institutional involvement in the local market was lower at 27% to 30%, data reveals.

ALOR SETAR: The Environment Department (DOE) has taken action against a rubber glove factory by issuing a stop work order after it was found to be releasing untreated effluents into public drains. "After inspecting the drainage system, our investigator identified the source of the effluent discharge - a factory releasing blue-coloured effluents directly into public drains, contaminating a 70-metre stretch. She added that the factory has been instructed to stop the discharge of polluted effluents immediately and has been served with a stop work order. The direct release of untreated effluents is a violation of Regulation 5 of the Environmental Quality (Industrial Effluent) Regulations 2009. Sharifah Zakiah said follow-up inspections would be conducted to confirm the effectiveness of the corrective actions before the factory can resume operations.

THE rise of artificial intelligence (AI), particularly generative AI, is creating significant interest for its potential to transform industries and job markets. He emphasises the importance for tech students to not only grasp the evolution of AI but also to understand disruptive technologies to stay one step ahead. Students must always be ready to learn and acquire new and relevant skills to position themselves favourably in the burgeoning job market. The programme aims to cultivate tech engineers capable of designing, developing, deploying and maintaining AI systems, empowering them to become proficient technology developers and future talents in AI. AI graduates have diverse career options including becoming AI engineers, machine learning engineers, data engineers, robotics engineers, software engineers and data scientists.

KUALA LUMPUR: The public should lodge complaints with the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry if they find any Israeli-made products being sold in the Malaysian market, says minister Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali (pic). Aside from monitoring prices of goods under its “Ops Pantau”, Armizan said the ministry is also checking for Israeli products in the market in the same operation. He said this following recent reports where dates from Israel were found to be sold in Malaysia. This was after the department was notified of social media postings on Monday by netizens claiming that repackaged Israeli dates were being sold in Malaysia. We will ensure no dates from Israel are being distributed and offered to consumers,” Armizan replied.

PUTRAJAYA: The National Unity Ministry has denied that the payment of fees to the consulting firm Pemandu for strategic planning affairs and roadmap workshops for the Malaysian Indian Transformation Unit (Mitra) comes from the unit’s allocation. Minister Datuk Aaron Ago Dagang said the payment to the firm was made through the operational allocation of the ministry in accordance with existing financial procedures, namely the Treasury Circular PK 3.2. "I deny that the payment of fees to this firm utilises Mitra's allocation. I also want to refute claims that Pemandu will manage the process to review applications, financial assistance, and allocation distribution of Mitra," he said in a statement. I urge everyone to participate in this survey by providing views, suggestions, and ideas regarding the direction of Mitra," he said.

IPOH: A shop in Tanjung Rambutan here has landed in hot water after refusing to sell bagged cooking oil to the public. "The cashier told our personnel that cooking oil was sold out and asked them to return the following evening. "They found about 1,248kg of the cooking oil bags in the storeroom and seized the controlled goods, which was worth about RM3,120," he said in a statement on Wednesday (March 13). Kamalludin said the shop was issued with a stock declaration notice under Section 8 of the Control of Supplies Act. "The community is urged to continue being the eyes and ears, channelling information on misappropriation of controlled and subsidised goods," he said.

My Son Sanctuary has many Hindu temples and monuments that were constructed over a period of 10 centuries. Between the 4th and 19th centuries, they dominated the seaside region now part of central Vietnam as a massive maritime power. Drawing spiritual inspiration from the visiting Indian traders, Cham Kings progressively established there between the 4th and 13th centuries several Hindu temples, dedicated to the God Shiva. I saw some more Hindu temples, like the ones in My Son Sanctuary, in Quy Nhon, which was my next stop. Besides Hindu temples and tranquil beaches, the city is home to luxurious resorts, trendy restaurants and cafes and exotic street food joints.